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In addition to winning bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, U.S. women's rugby star Ariana Ramsey also went viral. And while some might say that's the lesser of the two, the conversation she sparked at the Olympics is not only important— it’s one that should be on everyone’s lips, especially as healthcare access and programs like Medicaid are being stripped away across the U.S.
While staying in the Olympic Village in Paris last year, Ariana stumbled upon one of the perks of the village (and a concept pretty foreign to most Americans): free healthcare. While many athletes went viral for showing off the free food, Ariana took a different route, documenting her experience going from doctor visit to doctor visit, all for free.99. It started with a trip to the gynecologist, then the dentist, then the eye doctor, and ultimately led her to become a self-proclaimed “universal healthcare advocate.”
In an interview with iHeartRadio's Black Information Network, as part of USA Rugby's partnership with Quest Nutrition, Ariana shared that in the year since Paris, her passion for healthcare reform hasn’t faded.
“I’ve been working with someone who is a doctor,” she shared. “He is trying to start universal healthcare. He’s going to start it in Washington first, and then from there we’re gonna see how it works and move on to other states. He’s taught me so much about healthcare systems. He’s recommended books to me that I’ve read, so I’ve been learning a lot about it.”
Now, Ariana’s working on an e-book to share what she’s learned. One that will share “knowledge of healthcare systems across the world and how we can actually make [universal healthcare] attainable [in the States].”
“People need to be educated about the U.S. healthcare system,” she added. “It’s actually insane, and we’re not doing anything about it because people just don’t know.”
As she noted, knowledge is power. And what Ariana is doing is powerful — sharing it, living it, and pushing for change. Oh, and she’s doing all that while training for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics. If that’s not gold medal energy, I don’t know what is.
Ready to learn more? Stay tuned. Ariana assured us her e-book—breaking down global healthcare systems and how we can fix our own—is coming soon(ish).
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